Since early recorded history, fireplaces have been made by skilled workers of masonry construction, which must be accomplished at the building site. In modern home construction, however, masonry has become relatively expensive and time consuming. Also, masonry fireplaces are notorious heat wasters since a large quantity of the heat is absorbed in the bricks and is lost. Therefore, metal stoves and furnaces have come into general use in most modern homes to provide the normal heating requirements with fireplaces being relegated to decorative purposes only. As labor and the use of borrowed construction funds have become more expensive, it has been found that even as a decorative feature, a masonry fireplace is prohibitively expensive and therefore metal fireplaces have been developed to simulate and/or replace the masonry fireplaces. Unfortunately, metal fireplaces tend to be heavy and rather bulky to assure that no hot portion of the fireplace is ever in contact with a flammable portion of the home. Also, the price of steel, like labor, has climbed to the point where cheaper alternatives which require less room and are easier to install have been desired.